All you need is dance
by persseida
Summary: Annie dreams of becoming a professional ballerina as far back as she can remember. A change of events forces her to drop off her Professional Dancing School, and attending a local dancing academy instead. Not everything happened as she had thought. College/Ballet AU. cover art by: littlestpersimon on tumblr
1. Chapter 1

The room was illuminated by the late afternoon sun, as it was setting. Dust in suspension could be seen in the beams of light. Annie had just arrived from her lectures, and yet she had to get ready again.

She wasn't sure she could get used to her new schedule right away, though she didn't have another choice. She packed all her musts on her dance bag – a bottle of water, ballet flats, a hair brush and some elastics inside a toilet bag. Also, an extra set of clothing for later. Everything else always stayed inside her bag, in case she would forget.

Annie had been a classical dance student since she was a toddler. How many hours would she have spent between the barre and _pliés_? She could easily lose the count. She almost lived in the dancing school, and her future as a a professional ballerina had been bright. Annie felt like it was part of her, she couldn't let it go so easily.

Nevertheless, she decided to have a backup plan. The dancing life wasn't easy, and though she was brilliant at it, she felt like it wasn't enough. She started studying at the university as well, leaving her with no time left. Dropping off the dance school was the last option, yet she chose it. Instead, she would be dancing at a local dance academy, with a more flexible schedule for her.

Annie couldn't say she was nervous, but beginnings were not her main strength. She tried to calm herself thinking the ambience wouldn't be _that_ different.

The girl sighed deeply, grabbed her bag confidently and left her house. The academy wasn't quite far from home, yet she was taking the bus - it had been a long day at university. Strong wind blew on her face as soon as she stepped outside, freeing some platinum bangs from her tight bun. She tucked them behind her ears while cursing under her breath.

The bus ride felt rather short, as she spent it redoing her bun with expert and fast hands. Annie finished her neat hairstyle with some golden bobby pins while getting off the creaking vehicle.

She opened the main door of the studio and stepped on wooden dark floor. She took a look at the entrance and main corridor, feeling rather insecure in a long time. White, neat walls filled with ballet inspired paintings. Inhaling deeply, Annie spotted a changing room, where she left her belongings and took off her street wear. She quickly put on a ballet wrap. Annie observed her worn-out ballet flats while putting them on.

"Seems like it's time to buy a new pair," she mumbled to herself, while caressing the ragged canvas.

She was never late. Annie took a look at the clock on the wall, happy to see she was on time. Half past five, exactly. Class started at that hour officially, but it seemed like the rest of the students didn't care, as the studio was rather empty.

The blonde walked to the nearest barre, trying not to make eye contact with any other dancer in the room. She started warming up her ankles, it was a sacred step a ballerinapeek could never miss before dancing. She peeked at the rest of the people looking through the mirror in front of her – a group of giggling girls over there, some other on their phones, and some guys leaning on the barre, chatting.

"This is not a bar," Annie grumbled to herself. How many times she had been told off for doing the same. You should never _lean_ on the barre, if you had certain etiquette. Happily, she discovered that nobody had paid much attention to her.

However, when a short and lean woman came in, she spotted her and smiled widely. She was wearing a burgundy cotton overall on top of her maillot, strawberry blond hair in a low bun and some music CD's on her hand.

"Hi! You must be Annie," she chirped, while coming closer to her. "I am the teacher, my name's Petra Ral," the hazel-eyed woman added. She didn't look much older than the blonde, but only by watching her walk and gesture you could tell she had been dancing all her life. "We talked on the phone the other day, I'm really sad you had to drop off the Dance School. Your teacher told me about you, she says you're a brilliant dancer," she continued with proud eyes. "You can feel at home, but don't relax, I'm rather strict," the woman raised a finger, attempting to look tough. She didn't succeed, or so thought Annie.

After a quick conversation about Annie's level and recent injuries, she was left alone again, while Petra turned on the CD player. Classical music started playing.

The room was quite crowded, in comparison when Annie had arrived. She counted about twelve people, all gathered and sitting on the floor, while stretching and warming up. Big mirrors covered every wall, wooden floor worn out from pointe shoes. She looked at herself in the mirror while she grabbed her heels, leaning over her straight legs. The silent atmosphere felt just right after a busy day at college.

Barre work was rather obnoxious, as some girls wouldn't stop talking. Annie wanted to kick one of their faces in an _arabesque_, but stopped herself. She had so gain some confidence first. Simple _tendues_, long and tough _rond-de-jambe_, and ending with _developpés à la seconde_ and _derrière_. It was just her everyday routine.

When barre exercises led by Chopin pieces had finished, she observed some girls as they started to tie their pointe shoes ribbons around their ankles. Boys also took off some layers of extra clothing. "_Repertoire_," she sighed. Annie started to put on her silky shiny shoes, and hid the knot of the ribbons behind her Achilles tendon. Some girls looked at her with curiosity, mistrust, or even with superiority. It was nothing new to her – dance world had always been like that. It had been a long time since she didn't practice a _pas de deux_, she remembered, as her last dance partner had been injured.

Boys and girls started pairing, and as she found herself without a partner, she opted for staying at the back of the class, and copying the girls' choreo.

Petra noticed her actions, and walked over to stop her. "Annie, don't worry, wai-"

The studio door opened with a loud creak, and everybody turned around to see. A lean blond-haired boy appeared, all eyes on him. He had a sleepy face, with bags under his blue eyes. He certainly looked really sick. "Good evening, Mrs Ral," greeted the male with croaky voice. The teacher blinked in awe, as the boy dropped his black canvas shoes on the floor and started putting them on. He coughed and blew his nose at the same time.

"Oh, Armin! You should have stayed home, you've gotten worse," exclaimed a concerned Petra. Pitiful eyes laid on the ill boy. When the teacher approached to him, Armin smiled genuinely.

"Don't worry, Mrs Ral. I've only come to do _Repertoire_, I'll be okay," he answered with difficulty, while waving at the other students. Petra evaluated the situation with arms akimbo, the nodded.

"Poor dying creature," mumbled Annie, observing the boy with a disinterested glare. She looked away, but then something clicked in her head. Petra told her to wait just a few moments before, because she hoped that boy would come… and so he could partner with her. It meant that _snotty_ brat was going to dance the _pas de deux_ with her. Annie highly doubted he could carry a baby around, let alone an adult woman.

The tiny teacher leaded the boy towards her, and Annie could only think of escape routes. "Armin, this is Annie. I decided she would be taking turns to partner another boy, but since you've finally come," Armin nodded looking at her, removing some bangs from his clear eyes. "This is her first day with us, so be gentle with her," _this must be a joke_, Annie's expression screamed.

"No worries, I'll be a gentleman," joked the blond. Annie tried her best not to make a disgusted grimace. Petra then left, and went to the front of the class to mark the steps.

That boy was getting on her nerves, and she didn't know him yet. Annie had zero to no patience, but managed to keep a straight face. At least, he was reasonably taller than her, so they could work out when partnering, she wanted to believe.


	2. Chapter 2

"Have you done this many times?" mumbled the boy, holding an elastic with his teeth while styling his chin-long hair into a small ponytail. Annie didn't even bother in looking at him, and she took her sweet time to answer. "You mean talking with your mouth full?" she mocked, while Armin finished his complex manoeuvre. He sniffled. Armin looked surprised and slightly hurt by her answer. "Oh no, I mean dancing in pairs…" he corrected with a nasal voice. The constant murmur of the other dancers hammered the girl's temples. Annie just tilted her head, then shrugged. "Yeah, I used to." Maybe giving up dance wasn't a bad idea, after all. She acted like her partner wasn't there, though he didn't seem upset by it. He went to one of the nearby barres and stretched his hamstrings doing _grand-jetés_.

They were performing a variation from Giselle, in which Albrecht comes into play executing a great number of _petit-battements_. Annie looked briefly at his sick partner. "You wish", she whispered. After the exhausting repetition of these steps, Albrecht walks to the back of the stage in order to carry Giselle 'floating' through the scene. It was such a beautiful variation in the eyes of the platinum haired girl, but things couldn't get any worse for her. How could that weakling meet that variation's expectations? He had to lift her above his head. She trusted in Petra's judgement, and she prayed that she hadn't be paired with him just because there wasn't another option.

One, two and three couples executed the variation to the lovely music. The fourth one, being formed by quite a tall boy and an exotic-looking girl, looked like they were having some trouble. They couldn't synchronize their steps and they were making major mistakes.

"You stepped on me with all your weight!" yelped the male, while he pointed at his hurt foot. "Can you imagine how does being stepped with a pointe shoe hurt?" The enervated girl shook her head while she criticized his awful coordination, and blamed him of not being able to keep up with her. Petra had to separate them before any pointe shoe went flying to one another's head.

"Enough you two, Mikasa, Jean! You're both at fault, you should have seen yourselves," the exasperated teacher protested. Then, she turned towards Annie's direction. "Armin, stop that nonsense and partner Mikasa!" the boy suddenly snapped out of it and went running to the centre of the studio. Annie was eager to see him in action. She thought Petra had chosen him because he was not paying attention, but that wasn't the actual purpose, much to her surprise.

The asiatic girl sighed while walking back to the corner of the class, ready to perform her choreo again, while Armin stayed in the centre, in front of the mirrors. He cracked his neck while Petra counted before playing the music from the beginning.

The blond's _petit-battements_ were cleanly and quickly executed, on top of being able to jump higher than the average male dancer. His hair fanned around his head with every jump, but he seemed used to it. Annie wasn't aware that her mouth dropped open while watching him dance. Armin arrived to the point where Mikasa was waiting, and held her waist while they advanced through the scene gracefully. It looked so natural on him, like he was born just for that. How could a person with such a frail complexion jump like that and carry another person almost effortless?

Armin descended his partner and she executed her last steps. They all clapped, even Mikasa looked proud. Annie snorted, she wasn't expecting that. All of sudden, Armin ran to the changing room. "Wait a sec!" he announced while skidding on the corridor. His voice was stuffy, and they all shrugged. They heard him blowing his nose.

"If I didn't know him, I'd think he's a weirdo," commented the previous partner of Mikasa, arms akimbo. Annie realised she actually wanted to partner him, in contrast to her previous opinion.

The blond couple reunited again, in silence. Petra addressed them. "Annie, have you danced Giselle's _grand pas de deux_ before?" the girl gave her a thoughtful look. "I've danced Giselle, but only as a wili, never as the principal… I know the choreography by heart, though," she guaranteed. Armin looked at her with curiosity, but Annie felt rather uncomfortable.

Annie tied her pointe shoes' ribbons again, feeling the pressure around her ankles. She was being observed by the rest of the class, which was distressing to her. Once ready, she came to her place to start the variation.

This act started with Albrecht at the back of the stage, observing Giselle dance with slow and graceful movements, before joining her and guiding her through a choreography full of grief and lovelessness. "How appropriate," Annie thought.

The music started echoing through the studio, while Annie started remembering the choreo. While she executed the first steps, she memorized the following ones, being long and challenging _developpés_ and _atittudes_. "Annie, you need to show some emotion, Giselle is heartbroken because she can't be with Albrecht!" ordered Petra, while clapping to put pressure on her. Annie made a grimace. Not only she had to perform a perfect _adagio_, but also express the sorrow her role felt during that dance, and not because of the physical strain.

Once she finished her solo, Armin came close to her, holding her by the waist and guiding her through the scene. The blond male seemed to adjust just well to the rhythm of each one of his partners. He stepped back just in time to let them straighten their limbs, so there weren't any undesired injuries or problems.

Annie turned on her pointe shoe to meet his eyes, while she did an _elongé_. In that precise moment, the blond male made a weird grimace. Annie arched a brow, but before continuing her turn, Armin sneezed on her face. He clearly had his hands busy in holding her, and he couldn't avoid the havoc. Annie came off of her pointes, almost tripling over and walked abruptly away from him, while the blond realized what had just happened in dread.

"Where do you get off!? Couldn't you just tell me?" Annie yelled while she wiped her face with the back of her pale hand. Armin didn't know how to react, he tried to vocalize a genuine apology, but nothing came out of his mouth. He reached his arms towards her, trying to calm her with that gesture, but it didn't work.

Annie stomped the wooden floor with her pointe shoes, heading to the changing room. Armin followed her close, leaving behind all the whispers and chuckling in the main studio. He turned the corner, almost slipping. He gazed at the angry girl, trying to put some street clothing on.

"Annie, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-" apologised the blond boy, scratching nervously his arm. "Leave me alone, moron. I don't have to go through any of this," she declared in a deadly tone. She wasn't planning to look at that idiot again. The boy hesitated before speaking again. Her angered words didn't have that much impact on him, but he wasn't feeling alright. He wasn't guilty, wasn't it? He would have avoided it if he could.

Armin usually got along with most people, since he was a calm and easy-going person, although he always defended his cause. Nevertheless, it looked like Annie was going to be a different situation.

Annie dressed up hastily, missing the correct hole while putting on her sweater. Petra appeared in the room with a concerned expression. "Listen Annie, he didn't do it on purpose," the teacher tried to pacify her. Annie focused on putting on her shoes, without looking at anybody. "I guess he already apologised, isn't it?" she looked at the anxious boy, who answered with a quick nod. Deathly silence fell between them. "I need nobody's apology. I'm leaving," the girl declared, walking past them. Armin made a hint of following her, but Petra grabbed his shoulder. "Don't worry Armin, the class was about to end either way. She'll get over it." The blond male blew his nose again with a tissue, down in the mouth. They returned to the studio to finish off the class with the regular stretching session.

She took her earphones out of the bag. Seeing them impossibly tangled, she put them back where they were. The girl breathed in the autumnal air and sighed, while tilting her head back, resting it on the crystal screen of the bus station. She thought she may had acted way too exaggerated, though she didn't know what are you expected to act like after being sneezed in the face. Annie wasn't feeling guilty, but evaluated her actions as childish. However, she tried to set these thoughts apart, and closed her blue eyes. The blank image she was focusing to create disappeared as light panting was heard nearby. Annie opened her eyes abruptly and looked at the person next to her.

"Listen Annie," breathed nervously the blond boy, while setting some golden locks apart from his big ocean eyes. "I don't like having any bad quarrels with anybody, and…" he breathed in before going on, "I completely understand your reaction, I mean it…" the boy started looking insecure about his words. "Well, I'm aware that you don't want to talk to me right now, but you can ask me anything you want… anytime. To compensate for… having sneezed, uhh, in your face," he finished his speech, with a nervous look. Annie gave him an inscrutable glance in response. It was true that he was doing his best to earn her forgiveness. Nevertheless, she evaluated his offer as futile, as she always got what she wanted thanks to her hardworking nature.

"Just promise me you won't go… that you won't leave the academy. I think you are an exceptional ballerina, for real," the blond guaranteed, having caught his breath from the previous sprint to the bus station. "Moreover, we'll hold soon an audition for the Christmas show. We'll dance in the city's Opera. I believe you could get to be the prima." Annie held his gaze, while weighing his words.

"Leave it be, err…" started Annie, narrowing her eyes, trying to remember.

"Armin," helped the blond, with an awkward smile.

"Right, Armin. I also think I've reacted quite… inappropriate, perhaps. I'm sorry for yapping like that. And forget about the idea that I'll drop dancing just because of this accident. Keep in mind that I'll break your leg if you do it again, though," answered the girl in a cold voice. Firstly, Armin smiled awkwardly, thinking it was some sick joke. Then, he realised that it wasn't a bluff, according to her deadpan expression. In that moment, the bus appeared at the end of the street and Annie stood up.

"See Annie, I won't be happy until I've made something to compensate you. If you need anything, I-… I've brains, you could say. I'm not implying that you aren't smart or anything, I know nothing about you, although," continued Armin under Annie's cold gaze. "If you're stuck in any subject, you can ask me anytime, I'll try to help you out. Petra told us you went to college, too. It must be really difficult to combin-" the bus creaked and stopped before them, and the door opened with difficulty.

"Goodbye, Armin." The girl excused herself almost emotionless, while Armin waved his hand at her. The platinum blonde girl only nodded in response.


End file.
